Sunday, March 7, 2010

This weekend was a great unofficial start for the kite flying season in Maine. 50 degree weather brought out dozens kite flyers to Bug Light Park in South Portland. At least a dozen of them were members of the NorEasters kite club. This was the time to get out new kites for the first flight as well as old favorites. March 20 will be our real start to the season with the KONE fly at Hampton Beach across from the Ashworth Hotel.

April is National Kite Month and in Maine we will be celebrating the season with kite flying every Saturday in several locations including Bug Light Park in South Portland and Pine Point Beach in Scarborough. In addition we have the annual Easter Kite Fly in Fort WIlliams Park in Cape Elizabeth. I think that may have been my first kite fly ever, way back in 1990. For more dates, check out the calendar at the Noreaster web site,http://sites.google.com/site/noreasterskites/Home/calendar

Monday, March 1, 2010

For the second year, we held a kite making workshop aimed at the beginner. I called it Kitemaking 101. The new kite makers make simple diamond kites with ripstop nylon and added an appliqued design to the kite.

We had 6 people making kites, of that, 3 of them made their first kite and one made their second kite. Some of the participants were fairly new to sewing so this was a nice easy design to work with. They started with pre-cut pieces, hemmed the kite, added spar pockets and then used another color or two for their applique. To finish, they made tails out of scrap nylon.

We had a great venue for the workshop. Leo A reserved the Clubhouse, a multi purpose room at the River View Apartment complex in South Portland, thank you Leo.

This was the Noreaster's second kite making workshop this winter, Tony O hosted a box kite workshop in January, so we should be scheduling a kite fly for all the workshop participants this Spring.

About Me

I have been making and flying kites for about 20 years. I enjoy being outdoors and flying kites can bring peace to the soul. I play with stunt kites, power kites, fighter kites and single line kites. Most of the kites I make are single line kites with some sort of applique design. I help organize kite events in Maine with our unofficial kite club, the NorEasters and I maintain a website that features photos from our kite events and more, including international kite festivals. A calender of events is also on the website, http://mainekites.com/main%20page.htm
My wife and my son also enjoy kites. My wife is a partner in our kite making and design.